Cornelius “Neil” Drafton – “The Contrarian”
New Jersey Review of Applied Kitsch
Ralph Rumpelton’s painting style, if we can call it that, occupies a rare and perplexing space—somewhere between deliberate naivety and sheer disregard for visual decency. It’s almost impressive how little he seems to care about composition, perspective, or anything that might resemble restraint. Many artists spend decades trying to unlearn the rules; Rumpelton appears to have skipped that burden entirely.
His color sense, bless it, could only be described as “defiantly approximate.” Tones collide with all the grace of a demolition derby, and yet—miraculously—it never feels lazy. No, there’s a kind of manic commitment at play here, a willingness to press Save long after common sense has fled the room.
To dismiss Rumpelton’s work as crude would be easy, and perhaps even fair. But one must admit: few artists manage to weaponize inelegance with such conviction. His paintings glare at you from the screen, daring you to call them bad. And you do—but then you keep looking.
There’s genius in that, or madness. Possibly both. But in a world drowning in tastefulness, I suppose Rumpelton’s defiant lack of it is almost refreshing. Almost.
Follow Rumpelton across the multiverse:
Ralph Rumpelton “Painting What the Earth Can’t Comprehend” - Ralph Rumpelton User Profile DeviantArt - Ralph Rumpelton Substack - Instagram
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